UAS aims to increase awareness of Iraqi life
By Youmi Chun
May 14, 2003 9:00 p.m.
UCLA’s United Arab Society is hosting its third annual
humanitarian event this week to raise awareness about the
conditions in present-day Iraq.
Titled “Give Change, Make Change, Change Life,” the
three-day event will strive to raise money to help aid Iraqis
struggling with poor post-war living conditions.
“We want to spread awareness and education, and to give
people a chance to actively give back to humanity,” said
Maraam Haddad, president of UAS and a third-year psychology and
Middle East and North African studies student.
With plastic bottles lined up around campus, UAS employs various
techniques to draw attention to their event. The bottles bear the
UAS logo and stand as symbols of change for this week’s
event.
“It’s like the life cycle of a plastic bottle.
It’s a cycle, and it ties everything together, unifying the
entire event and our cause,” said Nader Handelih, press
secretary for UAS and a first-year undeclared student.
UAS hopes to raise money for LIFE for Relief and Development, a
nonprofit organization based in the United States that is working
globally to bring comfort and relief to people in suffering
countries.
“LIFE was chosen because their activities were already
underway in Iraq,” said Omar Dean, UAS internal vice
president and a fourth year molecular cell and developmental
biology student.
Throughout the week there will be an ongoing art display
exhibiting photos of Iraqi citizens in their daily lives.
On Tuesday, musical group BESSKEPP performed in Meyerhoff Park,
reciting poetry and rhymes about various Iraq-related issues.
From 12 to 1 p.m. today, representative guest speakers from LIFE
will speak in Meyerhoff Park about their organization and the
contributions they have made towards helping Iraqi citizens.
Organizers of the event have three goals: to raise money for the
organization, educate the UCLA community about Iraqi suffering, and
to show them that they can help.
“Most of the money going to Iraq through our tax money
goes to big businesses and doesn’t go to the people who need
it directly, so we want to raise money to be able to help them
directly,” Handelih said.
UAS hopes to clear up any misinterpretations on campus.
“We want justice in the Middle East, and for the situation
in the world in general to calm down,” Dean said.
“We want to instill that sense on campus. The situation in
Iraq hasn’t been represented for a long time, and we believe
that by bringing awareness to the campus, we can change
life,” he added.
